We know, we know. This is as upsetting as cable TV's changing its channel lineup, or The Courant switching around the strips on the comics page, or having to deal with Windows 8. But all of us will get used to it in time.

It's not as though Connecticut has any say in the matter. The state Department of Transportation is simply complying with federal regulations.

For years, exits on our limited-access highways have been numbered consecutively: Exit 6 is always followed by Exit 7.

Most states don't do it that way. They number exits by distance. If Exit 10 is then followed by another exit six miles away, the second one is called Exit 16. That's the numbering system the feds demand in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

From a driver's standpoint, the distance system is better, because it is easier to calculate travel time and gives a better sense of when to look for the off-ramp. But it's not what we're used to here.

The renumbering will take place over 20 years or so, starting with highway signs that need replacing anyway — which saves money, but the hodgepodge may result in temporary confusion. For example, a highway may have old-style Exit 15 and Exit 16, followed by the new-style Exit 42 and then the old-style Exit 18. The DOT plans to list both old and new numbers for a couple of years to ease the transition.

In time, the whole numbering system may become moot anyway, as drivers rely on GPS devices to get them where they're going — regardless of the exit number.

Besides, it could be worse: The distances could be measured in kilometers, as they are almost everywhere else in the world. At least we know miles.